The drug use among teens it has skyrocketed in recent years. Among the most commonly used drugs is alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and cocaine.
Tobacco is the most used substance in the majority of the adolescent population, followed by alcohol.
The form and place of consumption are what determine the risks involved. Drug use in adolescence begins with an approach to recreational use. Then there will be addiction or habitual consumption and finally dependence.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that some 205 million people use some type of drug. The most common it's cannabis, cocaine, and opioids.
The average consumption of toxic substances by young Europeans stands at 2.7%. In Spain this rate is 3.7% and one in 5 people between 15 and 34 years of age say they have used cannabis in the last year.
Drug use is more common among men than women. Much more than just cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption.
The age in which the young begin to consume alcohol occurs between approximately 12-13 years. It is at this age when nights out are generated and where their peer groups consume alcohol. To be accepted by their peers, the adolescent also becomes a consumer.
First you start with substances such as tobacco and alcohol. Later it will be transferred to other more powerful and addictive substances.
There are many factors that lead adolescents to consume these types of substances. It may be factors of the type social-demographic, psychological, personal or family.
It is the personality traits and their individual temperament that predispose an adolescent to use drugs.
That parents reject their children. Excess or little control by parents. Conflictive divorces. Unstructured family environment with a history of drug use. All these factors act as a trigger for the adolescent to have a low self-esteem and poor school performance.
We must also add to the little or no motivation for homework, leading to school dropout. All of this leads adolescents to approach more drug use as an outlet for their emotional, affective and behavioral problems.
As we well know, the demographic environment is very important, that is, where the adolescent resides. All this generates circumstances that can influence drug use.
Many teens come from slums where they continually have drugs at their fingertips. They are also used to seeing how other people consume, both in their group of friends and in their family environment. All this makes them see drug use as something normal and habitual.
Children are like sponges, they absorb everything, both the good and the bad. They also tend towards imitation. The adult figure becomes the guide of their behavior and way of interacting with the environment.
A boy raised in a slum tends to have higher rates of consumption.
The collectives of high social class they are also at risk for drug use. These are adolescents who, due to their economic status, want to have new experiences. For them the "no" is not allowed and the drug flows in these environments where money can do anything..
In this case, parents also have a lot to do with the education of their children. We are talking about a type of father who is permissive, consenting to everything from a very young age. This has done nothing but spoil them. In many cases the child receives a weekly payment for his own expenses. They become the stewards of their own money. Parents encourage drug use in this sense.
According to the risk perception there is a difference between both sexes. Women are more aware of the risks of drug abuse but are less likely to use drugs. Boys, on the other hand, take such risks and tend to be more outgoing and impulsive..
Regarding the educational and psychological point of view, we find different types of families and educational styles:
Parents exercise a tight control over their children through affirmation and power ("this is done because I say so"). Communication is poor and they exert high pressure on their children to take responsibility. In addition, they do not usually openly express affection towards their children. His educational style is inflexible and this generates affective-emotional and educational deficiencies.
These parents tend to raise obedient children, but also dependent, guilty, depressed and not very happy or spontaneous.
Children often have low self-esteem and are vulnerable to stress. On a psychological level they have affection and self-esteem deficiencies. As a consequence, they are more vulnerable to falling into drug use.
Parents exercise little control over their children. Communication is sometimes good and sometimes excessive. They treat children as equals making them accomplices of confessions that are not appropriate for their age.
They tend to be overly affectionate and don't give their children age-appropriate tasks. They do not pose limits
Considering the psychological profile of these children, they tend to have problems with social interactions. They do not meet standards of behavior and are not very persistent and uncontrolled. They have many self-control difficulties to assume responsibilities, as well as low morale.
While it is true, they tend to be more cheerful than those raised in an authoritarian environment. However, lack of control leads to low self-esteem in the long run.
When they grow up they become conflictive adolescents who transgress social norms and seek new experiences. This makes them prone to experimenting with strong drugs. They like to test or experience limits outside of pre-established social norms.
Parents have a low demand. They tend to abdicate family and educational responsibilities, where they tend to neglect their children. In addition, they also show a lack of sensitivity and are very little involved in the education of their children..
Regarding the psychological profile of the adolescent, they show little sense of personal effort. As a result they have little achievement in school. They develop a negative self-concept as well as little display of self-confidence towards others.
This type of profile tends to have a greater predisposition to suffer psychological disorders and behavior deviations. Young people tend to be more likely to engage in drug use for their emotional and behavioral problems.
They are usually parents with high control, but flexible, giving explanations to their children according to their age. They are also caring parents who allow their children to assume responsibilities..
Family communication is good. These are concerned parents who help their children in taking responsibility.
From a psychological point of view, these are children with good levels of self-control and self-esteem. They are socially competent and able to persist in tasks. They are also independent but affectionate children with a morality typical of their age..
There are usually very few or few who tend to fall into drug use. They tend to choose friends or groups of peers similar to themselves, where they are not influenced by others.
They have a fairly well-defined profile with enriching objectives. They tend to stay away from people who are detrimental to the style they are used to.
Consuming drugs in adolescence increases levels of dependence until it becomes drug addiction problems.
All consumption consists of a group of physiological, psychological and behavioral symptoms that involve dependence on said substance.
You can be a participant in aggressions or violent conflicts due to the loss of assertiveness, become a crime or commit violent acts such as robberies and even murders.
Deterioration in personal relationships. The person is not able to maintain their stability or healthy bonds with their loved ones. Sometimes he steals and does his best to get drugs and even through deception. As a consequence, people in his close circle distrust him and his social-affective relationships weaken..
Poor performance in school. He is able to abandon goals and objectives by resorting to drugs as his salvation.
Bad economy: Usually sell their belongings with the aim of consuming drugs.
When some of these factors intervene is when we should ask for psychological help. We must not forget that the abandonment process requires different steps.
Some parents don't bother to learn about drug use. They simply impose a no, without any foundation, that young people detect and reject.
Parents should get adequate information and adapt their explanations to the age of their children. They can introduce the subject of a so that it is not forced from a news item seen on television or a news item in the newspaper.
Parents often hope to find an ideal time and environment to discuss drugs with their children. But many times, this ideal moment never comes. You have to decide to take the step. Let's not miss opportunities to do it. It is an investment for the future. Talk whenever possible, even if conditions are not optimal.
The first information that our children receive about drugs is usually incomplete and confusing.
We must provide them with serious, verified information that does not reproduce the clichés, without exaggerations or false morals. Dialogue is not just talking, but showing interest and creating a space for communication that allows you to express ideas, doubts and concerns. You have to learn to listen and provoke the conversation to establish a relationship of trust and complicity.
Let's see some principles that should exist in all pedagogical education:
Let us invite our children to reflect, with solid and credible arguments. Fear will be useless, saying no because not, and the experiences of others will be of little use..
Without losing sight of the fact that without respect for the rules, there can be no responsibility or freedom.
It's easy to get lost at this point between permissiveness and severity. We find it hard to say no to the things our children ask of us and they are also specialists in getting what they want. Lately there are more and more cases of violence by parents against their children and by children against parents.
From an adolescent logic, the sensations and pleasures sought are immediate. However, the damage is always perceived as distant and unlikely. Teens don't have the risk perception not mature enough to see the danger.
But at the same time combat the attitudes that prevent them from being themselves. We must learn to avoid bad influences and companies, from before the courtship, since this can have serious consequences in the most intimate bosom..
What would you do if the boyfriend or girlfriend of your daughter or son thought that it could be a bad influence on her?
You have to be objective, one thing is that we do not like it and another that that relationship is toxic.
We must strive to understand what happens to our children and put ourselves in their place. We have to discover what they think and what they feel to establish rules that help them achieve internal order..
At the same time we must know how to be flexible and take advantage of negotiation as a tool for learning and building values. Let's establish an emotional bond with our children, showing them that we love them and that they can count on us.
In adolescence, the relationship is transformed: we lose security, it seems to us that our educational methods no longer work. It is convenient to continue with our own learning process and adapt our ideas to the new situation.
In early adolescence, drug use can appear regularly in the conversations of young people despite the fact that consumption is still a minority.
This is often a way of showing that childhood has been left behind. Talk about drugs at home, frankly, avoiding creating unnecessary dramatic situations. It is necessary to flee from the catastrophic tone that usually reinforces the convictions of young people ("my parents exaggerate, there is no big deal").
At the same time, however, it is important to try not to frivolize on the subject. The most important thing is to find a simple and direct tone that is effective in alerting to the risks of drugs.
The best way is to have a real drug knowledge, be convinced of its negative consequences and demonstrate it by personal example.
Insistently questioning them if they plan to use drugs or if they have already taken them. It is much better to ask their opinion (what do they think of drug use by some young people, what dangers do they see in it).
Let's avoid arguing and fighting, so that the defense of drugs becomes an affirmation of your identity. We should not disavow or blame them permanently with a judgment that can easily be turned against us.
The work of parents goes through communication and disposition to accompany them to achieve autonomy and responsibility.
Let's not forget that parents cannot always prevent teenagers from trying drugs. Our support can provide you resources to better withstand the pressure of the environment.
Avoid authoritarian and condemnatory attitudes. We have to learn to watch the little details. Listen and ask in a different way, dropping information, ideas and opinions.
Be demanding with our children. Trust them, but at the same time ask them to be responsible.Assess their successes and mistakes, without pressuring or criticizing them sharply.
Transmit values, norms and limits. We have to offer them what they need (which is not always the same as they ask for). Departures, schedules, pending tasks, involve compromise and responsibility, sometimes they can be agreed and in some cases they must be non-negotiable.
Recognize your ability to make decisions. The goal of teaching is for boys and girls to be autonomous and responsible.
We cannot always be on top of them and overprotect them thinking that they are not capable of understanding and acting in complex situations. Nor can we completely inhibit ourselves from his life. And all without stopping respect their privacy: have the right to it, and also need.
Communication must always be open. However, we must understand that our child will not always explain what happens to him. Neither do we. Let's be consistent. Our words lose a lot of value for our children if they are not accompanied by a consistent behavior.
Consistency in our actions is often more important than tips and recommendations. If, despite everything, we suspect that our child is using drugs, the first thing we should do is talk to him. We must find the right time to find out the reasons that have led him there. Know if it was only a specific event and how you assess the risks involved in your action.
It is necessary to check that you know the precautions to always take, and what to avoid if you experience risky situations again. A bad experience can be positive if they know how to draw conclusions from it. We have to talk about the issue of drug use calmly and without letting ourselves be carried away by urgency, anger or anguish.
It is better to let the first moment of greatest alteration pass and create a climate of true dialogue, without "victims" or "culprits".
Offer yourself, in a collaborative and thoughtful way, with concern, but without violence. Playing the detective or chasing our son we're just going to get him to distance himself from us.
We must assess what is the general behavior of our son, what interests him and how he relates to his friends. Let us look for practical ways to access the world in which they live. Without forgetting that all this is applicable to the world of addictions without substance.
Educating is helping to understand changes, discover emotions and feelings without letting them overwhelm us. The explanations of the rules, the negotiation and the pact will help us to establish a climate of trust. Courage in the art of educating.
Yet No Comments